JohnCh

Yes, I opted for that upgrade, but I did draw the line at the $1250 car cover and $950 shower cap/poncho. Even a Powerball winner needs to be a little prudent in today's economy. -John

For fun -- and because I have no life -- I just went through the option list and went a little crazy, adding nearly $140k in upgrades. Assuming there is no upcharge for the options on US cars, that means I specced a $380k Donkervoort. One Powerball win may not be enough. -John

After checking out their options list with the Euro prices, I think a pretty sizable Powerball jackpot may be necessary. https://www.donkervoort.com/media/DKV-Donkervoort-GTO-Upgrade-List-2022.pdf -John

For those who missed the news, Donkervoort is officially coming to the US. With a claimed sub 1500lb weight and 400+hp Audi 2.5L turbo engine it should be reasonably rapid. And for those of you who shudder at the price of a new Caterham, look away before I mention the price before options...$240k. More here in the Autoblog article. -John

I'm not sure if this will work for your situation, but I stow the side curtains in a form fitting bag I made from ripstop nylon then slide it behind the passenger seat when travelling solo, or sideways behind both seats when carrying a passenger (it fouls the passenger-side shoulder harnesses when located vertically behind that seat). I also carry a half hood, stow clothing in space saver bags, and carry a locking car cover (fits in front of the seat under my knees) to keep the inside dry overnight, and prevent prying eyes and stop knuckleheads from sitting in the car when parked at the hotel. Oh, and carry a few absorbent towels just in case. Sitting in a puddle of water does not make for a good look. -John

You'll need written permission from at least two Elan owners and will need to carry that in your car along with your registration in case you are pulled over by the Lotus police. @SENC and I are happy to provide that authorization for you. -John

The fact that the boot locks is a nice touch. I plan to do something similar with my Caterham. I'll cover that in the build thread once I get to that point. BTW one trick we learned on USA2005 is to pack your clothes in space saver bags. They feature a one-way valve that allows you to roll out all the air and compress the clothing. It keeps them wrinkle free, significantly reduces space requirements, and will keep them dry if you are driving a Caterham...in the rain...with a half hood I also pack a very thin duffle bag in the boot and use it to transport the space saver bags into the hotel each night. -John

Colorado thunderstorm that was bad enough I had to pull off the freeway because I could no longer see the edges of my lane. There have been other healthy rainstorms on tours, but that one was pretty epic. The boot contents have always stayed dry, but the Westfield is configured differently in that area than the Caterham. -John

Interesting. That doesn't match my experience, but we may have different definitions of good enough. I've used the half hood with side curtains in torrential thunderstorms and hail while touring with very good effect. No, it's not as good as the full hood, but it's effective enough that it's all I've used since 2004. -John

Let me rewrite part of my original post without the sarcasm and in a more helpful tone: I've heard from some who have used the umbrella that they prefer their half hood. It isn't much more effort to install and does a better job in the rain (no water dripping all over you or into the cockpit when you remove it to get in) and has the added benefit of being useful when driving. Of course, it doesn't look as cool at a car show, but something to consider if your primary concern is protection. -John

Westfield offered one through their parts department until recently when they went into administration. Not sure of their source, but these photos will give a better idea of the design. Personally, I'd rather a half hood. Not as cutesy for car shows, or offering quite as much sun protection when parked, but better protection from rain, is still easy to stow, and can be used while under way. -John

This is 3.90. I believe Birkin uses a Subaru rear diff vs. the Sierra diff installed on Westfields and older Caterhams (they moved to BMW diffs when the Sierra supply started to dry up). I have no idea what options are available for the Subaru unit. -John

I have the BGH E2 HD gearbox with a 3.62 rear end and 205/60-13 tires. Using the same 8000rpm limit as you do with your engine, my speed in gears are as follows (and no, it won't hit 8000 rpm in 4th or 5th ) Your 225/45/15 tires are only 1.3% bigger in circumference than my tires, so inconsequential. Happy to plug any information you have into my calculator so you can compare. -John

That's good information for people to have. A <20% surcharge to have exactly what you want and avoid any shipping/customs/fit issues seems like very good value. Cheers, John

That helps! I just looked up the Quaife gearset and they have some pretty extreme options as shown here. -John

That's a beefy cage! Glad it worked out for you. I'm curious, how did the price for a custom cage compare with the price of the Caterham cage plus international shipping? Were they reasonably close or did the custom cage land you in a very different price bracket? Thanks, John

BGH has a few different ratios available that can be viewed here. First gear options are 2.98 (what I have in my BGH box), 2.83, 2.75, or 2.66. I've never heard of a 2.37 in a Type-9 before, but my math matches MV8's. Are you sure the diff ratio is 3.90? -John

Glad I included my caveat. I think spitfun would kill me if he had to keep up his end of the bargain when you had already made the change Now back to this thread about spitfun's car and (hopefully) more positive comments. -John

@IamScotticus I'll broker a deal between the two of you. @spitfun will agree to remove the Lotus badge from his non-Lotus Superformance as soon as you agree to remove the Lotus badge from your non-Lotus Caterham. Unless of course you've already done that Nice car @spitfun. Do you have any larger format photos of the car? Thanks, John

I aim to please And don't feel badly, most of us have had similar "Doh!" moments throughout the years. I know I've had more than my share and I'm not through adding to the total. -John

The ferrule (cylindrical part at the end of the throttle cable) should slide in the cutouts circled in red. The cable should fit through the slot on the top of the left cutout. Does that make sense? -John

I'm not quite following the issue. Are you saying that the cylindrical cable end is too big to fit through the round cut outs in the throttle assembly, or that the cable is too thick to fit through the slot, or something else? Looking at the photo, I'd think that you would pull enough slack from the other end so that the cable is orthogonal to the cutouts, then slide it through. Thanks, John

Supply chain issues have not been kind to anyone with a car on order. My deposit was placed in early May 2021, and the kit was considered production complete in early April, but Caterham refused to ship because it was missing a coolant hose and grill (don't get me started on that one.) Those parts became available early last month and now I'm waiting for another car to come out of waiting-for-parts-hell so we can share a container to keep shipping costs under control. If your dealer has another car coming to the US, that might be an option to discuss with him. Regarding the cost, are you sure the original quote to ship the kit to you was that low? Prior to placing my order, I was given the impression that shipping rates were ~$6k to Seattle but were clearly at risk of increasing. I've heard from someone else recently whose portion of a shared container was ~$8k. -John

Not exactly what you are looking for but the back of this assembly guide from 2015 has wiring diagrams for the 420 with either the standard or Stack dash. Depending on what you are trying to ascertain, it might help. -John

@srf86 sold the car before posting his new ad, so I've updated the title to reflect the status and have unlocked the thread. -John